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ADDRESS 

;,?/ 

iS-'       V 

i)Er.rvj.RED   Bepo/,.-   t:i>: 

SOCIETIES, 


SSii^IPIIil^  miilEdSj^  Mo  <Sa 


JUNE  2(K  1832. 


FOUETH  EDITION. 


RALKIGH: 


PREFATORY  NOTE  TO  THE  FOURTH  EDITION. 

Of  the  very  many  Addresses  delivered  before  the  Literary  Societies,  of 
the  Universities  and  Colleges  in  the  United  Slates,  within  the  last  thirty- 
years,  no  one,  it  is  bcl  eved,  has  attracted  such  getieial  alieni.on,  ana 
ehciied  such  general  commendation,  as  the  roilowing-. 

It  was  received  at  its  dehvery  with  marked  favor  by  the  most  numer- 
ous and  intelligent  audience  that  had  ever  assembled  at  this  seat  of  learn- 
ing for  a  similar  purpose.  An  edition  of  5000  copies  was  immediately 
published  by  the  Philanthropic  Society,  a  second  edition  was  printed 
shortly  thereafter  at  La  Grange  College,  Alabama,  and  a  third,  in  a  re- 
markably neat  style  of  typography,  during  the  same  year,  appeared  from 
the  press  of  the  late  Thomas  \V.  VVhyte,  at  Richmond  Va.,  to  which 
the  annexed  commendatory  letter  from  the  late  Chief  Justice  Marshall 
was  prefixed.  It  was  published  either  in  whole  or  in  part,  in  various 
periodicals,  and  will  be  found  entire  in  the  LTniversity  Magazine  for  the 
year  1844. 

Notwithstanding  this  wide  dissemination,  it  has  long  been  out  of  print, 
and  the  Literary  Societies  before  whom  it  was  delivered,  have  been  in- 
duced to  publish  tlie  present  edition  to  supply  the  demands  so  frequently 
made  for  it  from  various  sections  of  tlie  Union. 


Ilichmc7id,  August  9th,  1832. 

Mr.  Thomas  W.   White. 

Dear  Sir: — I  have  just  received  your  note  intimating  your  intention  to 
reprint  the  address  delivered  by  Mr.  Gaston  before  the  Philanthropic  and 
Dialectic  Societies  at  Chapel  Hill,  and  asking  my  opinion  of  it. 

Mr.  Gaston  favored  me  with  a  copy  of  this  address,  and  I  have  perused 
it  with  peculiar  interest  and  pleasure.  The  advice  he  gives  to  students 
is  excellent.  It  may  be  read  again  and  again  to  advantage  by  every 
youth  who  wishes  to  avail  himself  to  the  utmost  of  the  instruction  to  be 
acquired  in  our  seminaries. 

His  lessons  on  the  course  to  be  observed  by  the  young  gentleman  who 
is  about  to  enter  the  great  theatre  of  human  action  are  not  less  valuable, 
and  cannot  be  too  frequently  or  too  deeply  impressed  on  the  rising  gene- 
ration. They  seem  to  constitute  the  true  basis  of  the  character  to  which 
statesmen  in  a  republic  ought  to  aspire. 

With  great  respect,  your  ob't. 
J.  MARSHALL. 


iUlllRESS. 


dentleme)^   of  the   Dialectic  aiid  Philanflirnpir    Sncidies  : 

When  I  look  around  on  this  extraordinary  concourse  of  visitors, 
T  cannot  but  feel  that  expectation  has  been  too  highly  excited, 
and  cannot  but  anticipate  and  regret  the  disappointment  which  it 
must  necessarily  meet  with.  Aware  of  the  value  which  is  here 
set  upon  the  ceremony  of  the  annual  address ;  knowing  that  the 
friends  of  the  University  throughout  the  State,  regard  it  as  calcu- 
lated not  only  to  excite  a  spirit  of  emulation  among  the  Students, 
but  to  attract  the  public  attention  to  the  Institution  itself;  and 
warmly  attached  to  that  noble  cause,  for  the  advancement  of 
which  these  edifices  have  been  erected  and  your  associations 
formed,  I  felt  myself  bound  to  except  the  invitation,  in  obedience 
to  which  I  appear  before  you.  Could  I  indeed  have  foreseen 
the  unusual  engagements,  which  added  to  the  ordinary  occupa- 
tions of  a  busy  life,  have  left  me  no  leisure  to  prepare  any  thing 
worthy  of  the  general  expectation,  I  should  have  deemed  myself 
at  liberty  to  decline  the  call.  But  the  discovery  was  not  made 
until  after  my  word  was  pledged,  and  it  was  too  late  to  hope 
that  the  duty  could  be  devolved  on  another.  Compelled  then  to 
choose  between  an  entire  disappointment  of  your  hopes,  and  the 
presenting  myself  to  you  without  the  advantages  of  full  prepara- 
tion, I  have  resolved  to  execute  the  undertaking  imperfectly, 
rather  than  forego  it  altogether.  To  whatever  petty  mortifica- 
tions the  adoption  of  this  alternative  may  expose  me  elsewhere, 
from  you,  my  young  friends,  I  am  sure  of  a  favorable  reception. 
You  will  see  in  it  an  expression  of  the  sense  which  I  entertain 
of  the  honor  conferred  on  me,  by  your  choice,  of  my  readiness  to 
gratify  your  wishes,  and  of  my  solicitude  to  cheer  you  on  in  the 
noble  career  upon  which  you  have  entered.  The  few  homely 
truths  which  I  wish  to  impress  upon  your  minds,  will  not  indeed 


<0 


JUDGE  GASTON'S  ADDRESS. 


come  mended  from  my  tongue,  but  1  do  not  despair  that,  pre- 
sented in  their  naked  plainness,  but  urged  with  the  earnestness 
and  sincerity  of  friendshiii,  they  may  win  their  way  to  your 
generous  and  affectionate  approbation. 

The  authority  of  Shakspearc  is  oftt-n  invoked  for  the  position, 
that  "there  is  a  tide  in  the  affairs  of  men,  which  taken  at  the 
flood,  leads  on  to  fortune."  AVitliout  venturing  to  deny  altogether 
the  fitness  of  this  metaphor,  and  fully  admitting  it  to  have  enough 
of  truth  to  render  it  appropriate  to  the  occasion  for  which  it  was 
used,  and  the  character  to  whom  tlie  great  poet  assigned  it,  I  yet 
regard  it  as  too  favorable  to  that  indolence  of  disposition  which  is 
always  ready  to  imagine  success  in  life  as  depending  on  some 
fortunate  tide.  I  hold,  that,  generally,  every  man  Is  tlie  architect 
of  his  own  fortune,  the  author  of  his  own  greatness  or  iixsignlfi- 
cancc,  happiness  or  misery.  True  it  is,  that  casualties,  neither 
to  be  foreseen  nor  prevented,  may  defeat  schemes  which  have 
been  wisely  concerted  and  vigorously  prosecuted ;  and  that 
success,  undeserved,  and  perhaps  unsought  for,  may  sometimes 
befall  the  weak  and  slothful.  These,  however,  ore  but  occasional 
deviations  from  the  ordinary  course  of  nature,  according  to  which, 
man's  energies,  wisely  or  foolishly  directed,  and  diligently  or 
carelessly  exerted,  are  made  to  determine  his  character  and 
condition  in  society.  The  stoutest  ship  that  was  ever  manned 
with  prudent  heads,  brave  hearts,  and  strong  hands,  has  foundered 
in  a  hurricane,  while  the  feeble  bark  that  "  owns  no  mastery  in 
floating,"  is  sometimes  safely  wafted  into  port:  yet,  who  can 
deny  that,  ordinarily,  the  fate  of  the  voyage  must  depend  on  the 
skill,  care  and  courage  with  which  it  is  conducted. 

IMuch  too,  very  much,  either  for  permanent  good  or  ill  in  the 
fate  of  every  individual,  has  been  found  to  follow  almost  neces- 
sarily from  the  habits  formed,  the  propensities  cherished  or  re- 
strained, and  the  rules  of  conduct  adopted  at  a  very  early  period 
of  life.  We  might,  perhaps,  be  tempted  to  i-egret  that  such  im- 
portant and  often  awful  consequences  should  follow  on  the  doings 
of  an  age,  when  the  unworn  senses  are  alive  to  every  impression, 
and  the  keen  appetite  greedy  for  every  enjoyment;  when  the. 
imagination  is  wild,  the  judgment  feeble,  and  "heedless  ram- 
bling impulse"  has  scarcely  learned  to  think.  Y'et  such  is  the 
constitution  of  nature,  and  such  consequenth'  the  appointment  of 


^^"  ^   ^'  "^y  '  ^  4ti  /tMi 


JIDCE  CASTON'S  ADDRESS. 


Him,  whose  wuys  ;trt'  ahvavi  wiso,  henevolent  and  just,  and 
whost'  will  it  wero  not  more  madness  to  resist,  than  it  is  impiety 
to  question.  Look  through  tlic  world,  and  the  h-ust  observant 
cannot  fail  to  discover  talents  abused,  opportunities  squandered, 
and  men  ruined,  because  of  early  folly,  misbehavior  or  thoui^ht- 
leisness  ;  and  let  those  who  have  passed  through  life's  ordeal 
with  safety  and  honor,  look  back  on  their  trials,  and  they  will 
acknowledge  how  much  they  owe  to  vej-y  early  impressions,  and 
to  habits  contracted  almost  without  a  sense  of  their  use  or  a  fore- 
sight of  their  consequences.  He,  therefore,  who  aspires  to  excel- 
lence, cannot  loo  soon  propose  to  himself  the  objects  which  he 
shoidd  strive  to  obtain,  nor  fix  his  aim  too  early,  or  too  steadily, 
on  the  end  to  which  his  efforts  should  be  directed.  The  short- 
ness of  life,  the  large  fragments  of  it  which  are  necessarily  occu- 
pied by  animal  wants,  or  wasted  in  frivolous  cares  and  amuse- 
ments, leave,  at  best,  but  an  inconsiderable  portion  to  be  devoted 
to  intellectual  cultivation  and  exertion.  To  waste  this  portion 
would  be  criminal  improvidence,  and  it  Is  of  the  highest  moment 
to  learn  betimes  how  it  may  be  most  beneficially  applied. 

Tlie  end  which  an  ingenuous  youth  naturally  proposes  to  him- 
self is,  a  taithful  and  honorable  discharge  of  the  duties  of  lite. — 
His  obj<''cts  are  to  realize  the  fond  hopes  of  his  parent.s  and  friend.s, 
to  acquire  the  affection  and  esteem  of  those  around  him,  to  be- 
come the  dispenser  of  good  to  his  fellow-men,  and  thus  to  fulfil 
the  purposes  for  which  it  has  pleased  Cod  to  place  him  in  this 
world  of  trial  and  discipline.  He  feels  that  these  objects  are 
indeed  go<-)d.  By  a  moral  instinct,  he  is  propelled  towards  them 
as  fit  to  fill  his  heart,  kindle  his  aspirations  and  animate  hi^* 
axertions.  Reason,  as  she  gradually  unfolds  her  ]X>wer3  and 
assumes  dominion  over  him,  sanctions  this  choice  with  her  appro- 
bation ;  and  Religion  comes  in  aid  of  Nature  and  Reason,  to  teach 
him  that  talents  are  but  lent  to  be  improved,  and  tliat  an  account 
must  be  one  day  rendered,  in  which  their  u.'^e  or  neglect  will  b*-' 
amply  rewarded  or  severely  punished.  How  much  is  it  not  to 
be  lamented,  that  sloth  should  enervate,  dis.sipation  corrupt,  or 
vice  brutalize,  thici  child  of  hope  and  promise  }  You,  who  have 
him  in  charge,  watch  over  him  with  never  sleeping  vigilance  and 
affectionate  solicitude.  Give  him  a  happy  :-tart,  sustain  him 
when  disposed  to  flag,  reanimate  him   when  di;Couraged,   check 


!  „Vv  >>»  \^.   y-.xN 


JUDGE  GASTONS  ADDRESS. 


kindly  his  wanderings,  soothe  his  wounded  feelings,  guide  him 
with  your  counsels,  and  save  him  from  the  foes  by  which  he  is 
\va\-laid  and  beset. 

Made  iioi'd  virtiite  puer  sic  itur   (id  astra. 

Most  faithfullv,  no  doubt,  are  these  duties  performed  hv  the 
able  and  excellent  men  who  are  here  charged  with  the  office  of 
instruction.  Little  can  hu  done  in  aid  of  their  efforts,  but  to 
exhort  and  entreat  all  placed  under  their  care  to  attend  to  their 
admonitions,  treasure  up  their  counsels,  and  obey  their  injunctions. 
Yet  thci-e  are  some  errors  w  hich  were  prevalent  when  I  was  a 
boy,  which  I  have  n-ason  to  believe  still  prevail  in  public  schools, 
and  which  may  perh.i[)s  he  better  handled  by  an  old  friend  than 
an  acknowledged  instructor — and  to  these,  therefore,  I  would  for 
a  few  moments  request  the  favorable  attention  of  the  vounger 
portion  of  my  hearers. 

Vigorous,  diligent,  and  persevering  application  is  essential  to 
the  attainment  of  excellence  in  every  pursuit  of  man.  It  is  un- 
doubtedly a  mistake  to  suppose,  that  there  is  no  original  inequalitv 
in  the  mental  faculties  of  dilferent  individuals.  Probabl}',  there 
is  as  great  a  disparity  in  their  intellectual,  as  their  physical  con- 
formation. But  however  false  this  extravagant  theory  may  be, 
there  is  another  error  far  more  common,  and,  practically,  far  more 
mischievous — ihe  error  of  exaggerating  the  difference  between 
the  original  energies  of  intellect,  and  of  attributing  to  splendid 
and  resistless  genius  those  victories,  which  are  not  to  be  achieved 
but  by  w-ell  directed  and  continued  industry.  It  is  In  the  Infancy 
of  lite,  that  tlie  inequalities  of  original  talent  are  most  striking, 
and  it  I-;  not  >trange  that  vanity  on  the  one  hand,  and  indolent 
admiration  on  the  other,  should  hyperbolically  extol  these  obvious 
advantages.  In  what  this  disparity  consists,  it  may  not  be  easy 
to  state  with  precision.  .  Hut  from  ,\i\  observatio.i  of  many  years, 
I  venture  lo  su^cgest,  that  the  cliief  natural  superiority  manifested 
by  the  favored  few  over  their  competitors  in  the  intellectual 
conflict,  i^  lo  be  loand  in  the  facility  with  which  their  attention 
is  directed  and  confined  lo  its  prij)er  -ui)ject.^.  That  youth  may 
be  regarded  as  fortimate  in.loo  I,  w'lo  in  early  life  can  restrain 
his  wanderlu'r  thoughts  and  tie  down  his  mind  at  will,  to  the 
contemplation  of  whatever  he  wishes  to  comprehend  and  to  make 
his  own.     A   I'e  v  moments  of  this   concentrated    application   is 


JUDGE  GASTON'S  ADDRESS. 


worth  days  and  weeks  of  a  vague,  interrupted,  scattered  at- 
tention. The  first  resembles  the  well-known  manceuvre  in 
Strateg;y,  so  simple  in  its  conception  and  yet  so  astonishing  in 
its  results,  by  which  all  the  arms  of  a  military  force  are  made  to 
bear  upon  a  given  point  at  the  same  moment.  Every  thing  here 
tells,  because  there  is  no  power  wasted,  and  none  misapplied. — ' 
Now  let  no  one  despair,  because  he  finds  this  eflbrt  to  confine 
his  attention  difficult,  or  for  a  considerable  length  of  time,  im- 
practicable. Northing  is  more  certain,  than  that  this  power  over 
the  mind  may  be  acquired.  Let  the  attempt  be  repeated  again 
and  again — first  for  short,  afterwards,  us  the  ability  is  increased, 
for  longer  periods,  and  success  will  ultimately  follow.  The  habit 
of  fixed  attention  will  thus  be  created,  and  it  is  one  of  the  pecu- 
liarities of  all  active  habits,  that  ;n  proportion  to  the  difficulty 
with  which  they  were  produced,  i.s  their  inveteracy,  when  once 
thoroughly  formed.  Thus,  it  not  unfreqently  happens,  that  the 
advantages  with  which  the  individual  commenced  his  career, 
who  was  naturally  alert  and  devoted  in  his  attention  to  every 
subject  as  it  was  successively  presented  to  his  notice,  have  not 
enabled  him  to  contend  successfully  with  him,  who  by  hard 
elforts  has  chained  down  his  wandering  thoughts  and  dissipated 
faculties  to  the  habit  of  attention. 

Among  the  best  results  which  attend  a  course  of  regular  acad- 
emical education,  is  this  exclusive  and  concentrated  direction  of 
the  mental  powers  to  their  appropriate  objects.  In  the  years  em- 
ployed principally  in  the  study  of  the  learned  languages,  the 
necessity  of  finding  out  the  meaning  of  each  word,  and  discerning 
either  the  agreement  between  different  words,  or  the  dependance 
of  some  of  them  upon  others  in  certain  grammatical  relations, 
necessarily  sharpens  and  fixes  the  attention.  After  this  prepara- 
tory discipUne  of  the  intellect,  the  Student  is  introduced  to  the 
study  of  mathematical  science,  where  proposition  leads  on  to 
proposition  in  regular  order,  and  his  attention  is  necessarily  en- 
cTiained  to  each  truth,  as  it  follows  with  logical  certainty,  from 
truths  previously  demonstrated.  He  is  then  initiated  into  the 
mysterious  laws  of  Natural  Philosophy,  as  they  have  been  discov- 
ered,  explained,  and  illustrated,  by  a  course  of  rigorous  induction, 
and  is  ultimately  familiarized  with  the  yet  nobler  and  more 
sublime  investigations  of  moral  science,  the  refinements  of  taste, 

2 


10 


JUDGE  GASTON'S  ADDRESS. 


the  beauties  of  eloquence,  and  the  charms  of  heavenly  poesy. — 
And  this  admirable  training;  is  conducted  remote  from  the  bustle"? 
and  cares  of  the  world,  in  the  very  hush  of  the  passions,  and 
beyond  the  reach  of  beguilins;  and  distracting  pleasures.  Here 
surely,  then,  the  understanding  is  di'^ciplined,  its  discrimination 
rendered  more  acute,  its  general  health  and  vigor  confirmed, 
while  a  facility  is  created  for  directing  its  powers  to  the  various 
manly  and  trying  services,  which  may  await  it  in  life's  busy 
theatre.  But  not  unfrequently  is  the  question  asked  by  querulous 
Students,  why  all  this  devoted  attention  to  the  dead  languages,  to 
mathematical  theorems,  philosophical  experiments,  metaphysical 
disquisitions  and  critical  subleties  ?  In  the  world,  no  one  talks 
Greek  or  Latin,  and  at  the  forum,  or  in  the  Legislative  hall,  we 
shall  not  be  called  upon  to  demonstrate  the  propositions  of  Euclid, 
or  explain  the  phenomena  of  hydrostatics  and  optics.  The  mo- 
tives of  human  action  are  better  learned  in  that  great  practical 
school,  the  world,  than  by  poring  over  the  theories  of  metaphy- 
sicians; and  all  the  rules  of  Quiuctilian,  Rollin  or  Blair,  will 
never  make  a  powerful  reasoner  or  an  eloquent  orator.  Why, 
then,  shall  we  consume  our  nights  and  days  in  the  acquisition  of 
that  which  is  to  be  of  no  practical  utility  hereafter,  and  which 
brings  with  it  no  immediate  advantage,  except  the  gratification  of 
pride,  a  shortlived  honor,  a  distinction  at  Commencement  ?  Be- 
ware, my  young  friends,  beware  of  the  tempter.  Those  arc  the 
suggestions  of  Sloth — tlie  most  insidinuj,  persuasive  and  danger- 
ous of  deceivers. 

"  J'itanda  est  improba  sijren  DcsUUa.^^ 

If  you  cannot  close  your  ears  against  her  insinuations,  strengthen 
your  understandings  to  triumph  over  her  sophisms,  and  nerve 
your  courage  to  resist  her  wiles.  Ba  sure,  if  )'ou  submit  to  her 
benumbing  influence,  and  waste  your  days  here  in  idleness,  the 
time  will  come,  when  with  hitter,  but  perhaps  unavailing  anguish, 
you  shall  bemoan  your  folly.  Remember,  that  it  is  not  designed 
by  an  academical  education,  to  teach  you  all  that  it  behooves  you 
to  learn — Education  is  not  completed  within  these  walls.  When 
you  shall  have  quitted  this  peaceful  retreat,  and  selected  the  pro- 
fession pr  state  in  life  in  which  you  are  to  be  engaged,  then  you 
should  apply  all  your  efforts  to  the  acquisition  of  that  species  of 
knowledge    v;hich  jb  more  especially  needed.      Here  are   in- 


JLDGK  (JASTOxX"^:  ADDRESS. 


11 


culcated  those  elementary  i)rinciple.s  of  science   and   literature, 
which  experience  has  shewn  to  be  best  fitted  to  form  the  founda- 
tion of  the  character  of  the  scholar  and  gentleman — those  rudiments 
of  instruction,  Avhich,  omitted   here,   are  rarely  indeed   acquired 
afterwards.     Here  are  to  be  formed   those  habits  of  vigorous  and 
continuous  application — here,  the  capacities  for  improvement  are 
to  be  cultivated  and  strengthenened,  so  that  every  occasion  and 
every  employment  without  these   walls  may  become   subsidiary 
to  further  advancement  in  knowledge,  ability,  and  usefulness.     It 
is  a  miserable  fallacy  to  mistake  the  exception  for  the  rule.    True 
it  is,  that  those  who  have  won  the  hisrhest  honors  at  College,   do 
not  always  realize  the  hopes  whicli  these  glorious  beginnings  have 
excited.     "  The  fair  bloom  of  fairest  fruit"  may  be   blasted  by 
pestilent  dews.     Folly,  vanity  and  vice,  low  pursuits  and  vulgar 
associations,  indolence,   intemperance,   and  uebauchery,  but  too 
often  debase  and  destroy  the  generous  youth,  who  entered  on  life's 
career,  rich   in  academical  distinctions,   docile,   ardent  for  fame, 
patient  of  labour,  of  manly  purpose  and  noblest  promise.     Mourn 
over  these  moral  wrecks.     Lament  the   instability  of  all  earthly 
good,  the  frail  character  of  all  human  excellence.     Weep  for  those 
who  have  fallen  from  their  high  estate,  but  say  not  it  was  folly  in 
them  Hius  to  have  risen.  True  it  is  also,  that  it  sometimes,  though 
vtry  rarely,  happens,  that  those  who  have  been  idle  during  their 
academical   course,    have,    by  extraordinary  exei-tions,  retrieved 
their  early  neglect,  and  in  the  end  outstripped  others  who  started 
in  the  race  far  ahead.     These  are  the   exceptions — they  furnish 
cause  to  humble  arrogance,   check  presumption,  banish  despair, 
and  encourage  reformation.     But  so  surely  as  a  virtuous  life  usu- 
ally precedes  a  happy  death,  so  surely  it  will  be  found,  that  within 
the  College  precincts  is  laid  the  ground  work  of  that  pre-eminence 
afterward  acquired  in  the  strife  of  men,   and  that  College  distinc- 
tions are  not  only  good  testimony  of  the  fidelity  with  which  Col- 
lege   duties  have  been   performed,    but  the   best  presages   and 
pledges  of  excellence  on  a  more  elevated  and  extensive  field  of 
action.     In  defiance,   therefore,  of  all  the  lures  of  pleasure,  and 
seductive  suggestions  of  sloth,   let  active  persevering  industiy  be 
the   habit  of  your  lives.     Form  this  habit  here,  and  cherish  and 
preserve  it  ever  afterwards. 

But  however  earnestly  vou  are  thus  exhorted  to   dilii^nce,  let 


12  JUDGE  GASTON'S  ADDRESS. 


it  not  be  forgotten,  that  tllligence  itself  is  but  a  subordinate  quali- 
ty, and  derives  its  chief  value  from  the  end  to  which  it  is  directed, 
and  the  motives  by  Avhich  it  is  impelled.  It  is  diligence  in  a  good 
cause  only  that  is  commendable.  Tlie  iirst  great  maxim  of  human 
conduct,  that  which  it  is  all  important  to  impress  on  the  under- 
standings of  young  men,  and  recommend  to  their  iiearty  adoption, 
is,  above  all  things,  in  all  circumstances,  and  under  every  emer- 
gency, to  preserve  a  clean  heart  and  an  honest  pui-pose.  Integrity, 
firm,  determined  integrity,  is  that  quality,  which  of  all  others, 
raises  man  to  the  highest  dignity  of  his  nature,  and  tits  him  to 
adorn  and  bless  the  sphere  in  which  he  is  appointed  to  move. 
Without  it,  neither  genius  nor  learning,  neither  the  gifts  of  God, 
nor  human  exertions,  can  avail  aught  for  the  accomplishment  of 
the  great  objects  of  human  existence.  Integrity  is  the  crowning 
virtue — integrity  is  the  pervading  principle  which  ought  to  regu- 
late, guide,  control,  and  vivify,  every  impulse,  desire  and  action. 
Honesty  is  sometimes  spoken  of  as  a  vulgar  virtue ;  and  perhaps 
that  honesty,  which  barely  refrains  from  outraging  the  positive 
rules  ordained  by  society  for  the  protection  of  property,  and  which 
ordinarily  pays  its  debts  and  performs  its  engagements,  however 
useful  and  commendable  a  quality,  is  not  to  be  numbered  among 
the  highest  efforts  of  human  virtue.  But  that  integrity  which, 
however  tempting  the  opportunity,  or  however  secure  against  de- 
tection, no  selfishness  nor  resentment,  no  lust  of  power,  place, 
favour,  profit  or  pleasure,  can  cause  to  swerve  from  the  strict  rule 
of  right,  is  the  perfection  of  man's  moral  nature.  In  this  sense, 
the  poet  was  right,  when  he  pronounced  'an  honest  man  the 
noblest  work  of  God."  It  is  almost  inconceivable  what  an  erect 
and  independent  spirit  this  high  endowment  communicates  to  the 
man,  and  what  a  morali  ntrepidity  and  vivifying  energy  it  imparts 
to  his  character.  There  is  a  family  alliance  between  all  the  vir- 
tues, and  perfect  integrity  is  always  foilowed  by  a  train  of  goodly 
qualities,  frankness,  benevolence,  humanity,  patriotism,  prompt- 
ness to  act,  and  patience  to  endure.  In  moments  of  public  need, 
these  indicate  the  man  who  is  worthy  of  vmiversal  confidence. 
Erected  on  such  a  basis,  and  built  up  of  such  materials,  fame  is 
enduring.  Such  ig  the  fame  of  our  Washington,  of  the  man 
''inflexible  to  ill  and  obstinately  just."  W'hile,  therefore,  other 
monuments,  intended  to  perpetuate  human  greatness,  are  daily 


JUDGE  GASTONS  ADDRESS.  13 

mouldering  into  dust,  and  belie  the  proud  inscription:^  whlcli  they 
bear,  the  solid  granite  pyramid  of  his  glory  lasts  from  ago  to  age, 
imperishable,  seen  afar  oil",  looming  high  over  the  vast  desert,  a 
mark,  a  sign,  and  a  wonder,  for  the  wayfarers  through  this  pil- 
grimage of  life. 

A  nice  sense  of  Integrit}'' cannot,  therefore,  be  too  early  cherish- 
ed, or  too  sedulously  cultivated.  In  the  very  dawnlngs  of  life  oc- 
casions are  presented  for  its  exercise.  Within  these  walls,  temp- 
tations every  day  occur,  when  temporary  advantage  solicits  a  de- 
viation from  the  rule  of  right.  In  the  discharge  of  the  various  du- 
ties which  you  owe  to  your  companions,  let  no  petty  selfishness 
be  indulged,  no  artifices  practised,  by  which  you  are  to  escape 
from  your  fair  share  of  labour,  inconvenience  or  contribution, 
or  any  one  deprived  of  the  full  measure  of  whatever  he  ma}'  right- 
fully claim.  Cultivate  singleness  of  purpose  and  frankness  of 
demeanor,  and  hold  in  contempt  whatever  is  sordid,  disingenuous, 
cunning,  or  mean.  But  it  is  when  these  peaceful  shades  shall 
have  been  left  behind,  and  the  fitful  course  of  busy  life  begun, 
that  seductions  will  be  presented  under  every  form  by  which  inex- 
perience, infirmity  of  purpose,  and  facility  of  disposition,  can  be 
waylaid.  Then  is  the  crisis  of  the  young  man's  fate — then  is 
the  time  to  take  his  stand,  to  seize  his  vantage  ground.  If  he  can 
then  defy  the  allurements  of  cupidity,  sensuality  and  ambition, 
the  laugh  of  fools,  the  arts  of  parasites,  and  the  contagion  of 
improbity  ;  then  indeed,  may  he  hope, 

"  III  sight  of  mortal  and  immortal  powers, 

"  As  iu  a  boundless  theatre  to  run 

"  The  great  career  of  justice — 

"  And  through  llie  mists  of  passion  and  of  St- ns^", 

"  And  through  the  tossing  tide  of  chance  and  paiu 

"  To  hold  his  course  unfaltering." 

You,  my  young  friends,  who  are  standing  at  the  threshold,  and 
waiting  with  eager  impatience  the  signal  for  entrance  upon  life, 
must  not  think  that  I  mean  to  alarm  you  with  idle  fears,  because 
I  thus  warn  you  of  the  approaching  conflict.  The  enraged  bull 
may  close  his  eyes  before  he  rushes  upon  his  foe,  but  rational 
courage  calmly  surveys  danger,  and  then  deliberately  prepares 
and  determines  to  encounter  it.  Apprized  of  your  peril,  and 
armed  for  the  encounter,  enter  on  your  course  with  resolved 
hearts,  and  fear  not  for  the  issue. 


14  JUDGE  GASTON'S  ADDRESS. 


So  sweet  arc  the  notes  of  human  praise,  and  so  abhorrent  the 
tones  of  reproach,  that  It  is  among  the  highest  eiibrts  of  magnan- 
imity to  pursue  the  straight  forward  course  of  duty,  without  being 
turned  aside  by  commendation  or  reproof,  by  flattery  or  calumny. 
Whatever  be  our  journey  through  hfe,  like  the  princes  in  the 
Eastern  tab-  ascending  the  mountain  in  search  of  the  wondrous 
bird,  we  are  sure  to  hear  around  us  the  confused  sounds  of  blan- 
dishment and  solicitation,  of  menace  and  insult,  until  with  many 
of  us,  the  giddy  bead  is  turned,  and  we  arc  converted  into  monu- 
ments of  warning  to  those  who  are  to  follow  life's  adventure. 
Rare,  indeed,  is  that  moral  courage,  which,  like  a  prudent  Paris- 
ade,  closes  its  ears  against  the  impression  of  these  sounds,  and 
casts  not  an  eye  behind  until  its  destined  course  be  accomplished. 
Rare,  however,  as  may  be  this  excellence,  and  in  its  perfection 
perhaps  unattainable,  there  can  be  no  true  dignity  and  decision  of 
character  without  a  near  approach  to  it.  Let  youth  be  ever  mo- 
dest, ever  deferential  to  the  counsels,  the  suggestions  and  the 
claims  of  others.  But  in  matters  of  right  and  wrong,  whatever 
be  the  lures,  tlie  taunts,  or  the  usages  of  the  world,  or  whatever 
the  suppos:d  inconveniences  of  singularity,  let  judgment  and  con- 
science always  rule  with  absolute  sway,  Carry  this  maxim  with 
you  through  life,  whatever  be  the  station  you  arc  to  occupy,  or 
the  business  you  are  to  pursue  ;  and  carry  with  it  another  kindred 
niaxim :  rely  for  success  in  yom-  undertakings,  not  on  'he  patron- 
age of  others,  but  on  your  own  capacity,  resolution,  diligence^  and 
exertions.  Rise  by  merit,  or  rise  not  at  all.  Suited  as  these  in- 
junctions are  believed  to  be  to  all,  they  are  peculiarly  addressed 
to  those  among  you,  who,  panting  ior  renown^  are  resolved  to  en- 
ter upon  a  public  career,  and  long  '•'  to  read  their  history  in  a  na- 
tion's eyes." 

'•How  wretched,"  exclaims  the  Poet  of  Nature,  "  is  that  poor 
man  who  hangs  on  Princes"  favours."  Miserable  is  the  condition 
of  every  being  who  hangs  on  the  favours  of  creatures  like  himself. 
Deserve,  and  strive  by  desert  to  win,  the  esteem  of  your  fellow- 
men.  Thus  acquired,  it  decorates  him  who  obtains,  and  blesses 
those  who  bestow  it.  To  them  it  is  returned  in  faithful  service, 
and  to  him  in  aid  of  the  approbation  of  conscience  to  animate 
diligence  and  reward  exertion.  Those  too,  who  engage  in  public 
service,  arc  bound  to  cherish  a  liCcU-ty  sympathy  ■with   the  wants, 


JII)(;K  GASTON'S  ADDRESS.  15 


leelingH,  comforti<  and  wi>i)es  of  tho  people  whose  wellare  is 
committed  to  tlieir  chargo.  It  is  essential  for  the  preservation  of 
that  confidence  which  ought  to  subsist  between  the  principal  and 
the  agent,  the  constituent  and  the  representative,  that  all  liaugh- 
tiness  and  reserve  should  be  banished  from  their  intercourse.  It 
sometimes  happens,  that  he  who  Iras  lived  too  constantly  among 
books,  manifests  a  disgust  in  an  association  with  the  uneducated 
and  unrefined,  w^hich  mortifies  and  repels  them.  This  is  absurd 
in  him,  and  unjust  to  them.  It  is  absurd,  for  he  ougiit  to  know, 
and  know  well,  those  for  w'hom,  and  upon  whom,  he  expects  to 
act — they  constitute,  iii  fact,  one  of  the  first  and  most  appropriate 
objects  of  his  study  ;  and  it  is  unjust,  for  not  unfrequently  under 
this  roughness  which  shocks  the  man  of  books,  is  to  be  found  a 
stock  of  practical  information,  in  which  he  is  miserably  deficient. 
Banish,  then,  all  superciliousness,  for  it  is  criminal  and  ridicu- 
lous. Honestly  seek  to  .serve  yaw  country,  for  it  is  glorious  to 
advance  the  good  of  your  fellow-men,  and  thus,  as  far  as  feeble 
mortals  may,  act  up  to  the  great  example  of  Him  to  whose  image 
and  likeness  you  are  made.  Seek  also,  by  all  honest  arts,  to  win 
their  confidence,  but  beware  how  you  preter  their  favor  Uy  their 
service.  The  high  road  of  service  is  indeed  laborious,  exposed 
to  the  rain  and  sun,  the  heat  and  dust ;  while  tlie  by-path  of  favor 
has,  apparently,  at  first,  much  the  same  direction,  and  is  bordered 
w'ith  flow^ers  and  sheltered  by  trec'^.  •'  cooled  with  fountains  and 
murmuring  with  waterfalls."  No  wonder,  then,  that  like  the 
son  of  Abensina,  in  Johnston's  beautifvil  A}Xjlogue,  the  young 
adventurer  is  tempted  to  try  the  happy  experiment  of  "  uniting 
pleasure  with  business,  and  gaining  the  rewards  of  diligence 
without  suffering  its  fatigues."  But  once  entered  upon,  the  path 
of  favor,  though  found  to  decline  more  and  more  from  its  first 
direction,  is  pursued  through  all  its  deviations,  till  at  length  even 
the  thought  of  return  to  the  road  of  service  is  utterly  abandoned. 
To  court  thel'fondness  of  the  people,  i.s  foimd,  or  supposed,  to  be 
easier  than  to  merit  their  approbation.  Meanly  ambitious  of 
public  trust,  without  the  virtues  to  deserve  it ;  intent  on  personal 
distinction,  and  having  forgotten  the  ends  for  which  alone  it  is 
worth  possessing,  the  miserable  being,  concentered  all  in  self, 
learns  to  pander  to  every  vulgar  prejudice,  to  advocate  every 
popular  error,  to  chime  in  with  every  dominant   party,    to  fawn, 


IG 


JUDGE  GASTON'S  ADDRESS. 


flatter  and  deceive,  and  becomes  a  deinago<^uc.  How  wretched 
is  that  poor  bL;ing  who  hangs  on  the  people's  favor!  All  manli- 
ness of  principle  has  been  lost  in  this  long  course  of  meanness ; — 
he  dare  not  use  his  temporary  popularity  for  any  purposes  of 
public  good,  in  which  there  may  be  a  hazard  of  forfeiting  it ;  and 
the  very  eminence  to  which  he  is  exalted,  renders  but  more 
conspicuous  his  servility  and  degradation.  However  clear  the 
convictions  of  his  judgements,  however  strong  the  admonitions  of 
his,  as  yet,  not  thoroughly  stifled  conscience,  not  these,  not  the 
law  of  God,  nor  the  rule  of  right,  nor  the  public  good — but  the 
caprice  of  his  constituents,  must  be  his  only  guide.  Having  risen 
by  artifice,  and  conscious  of  no  worth  to  support  him,  he  i*  in 
hourly  dread  of  being  supplanted  in  the  favor  of  the  deluded 
multitude  by  some  more  cunning  deceiver.  And  such,  sooner 
or  later,  is  sure  to  be  his  fate.  At  some  unlucky  moment,  when 
he  bears  his  blushing  honors  thick  upon  him,  (and  well  may  such 
honors  blush  !)  he  is  jerked  from  his  elevation  by  some  more 
dexterous  demagogue,  and  falls  unpitied,  never  to  ri.se  again. — 
And  can  this  be  the  lot  of  him  who  has  been  here  trained  to 
admire  and  love  high-minded  excellence — who  has  been  taught 
by  high  classical  authority  to  regard  with  the  same  fearless  and 
immoveable  indifference,  the  stern  countenance  of  the  tyrant  and 
tlie  wicked  ardor  of  the  multitude,  and  who  has  learned  from  a 
yet  higher  and  holier  authority,  to  hold  fast  on  -'whatsoever 
things  are  true,  whatsoever  things  are  honest,  whatsoever  things 
are  just,  v.halsoever  things  are  pure,  to  abhor  that  which  is  evil 
and  cleave  to  that  which  is  good  ?"  Believe  me,  however,  this 
is  no  fancy  picture.  The  original  may  be  found  in  the  world 
every  day.  Nor  will  it  surprise  those  who  have  had  occasion  to 
see  how  the  vain  heart  is  swoln,  and  the  giddy  head  turned,  how 
honesty  of  purpose  and  manliness  of  spirit,  are  perverted  by 
popular  applause.  It  is  but  the  first  step  that  costs.  Once  yield 
to  the  suggestion,  that  a  little  deceit  or  prevarication,  a  slight 
sacrifice  of  principle  and  independence,  a  compromise  of  con- 
science in  matters  not  absolutely  fundamental,  may  be  excused, 
when  the  immediate  gain  is  obvious  and  the  end  in  view  impor- 
tant, and  the  downward  path  becomes  every  day  more  and  more 
smooth,  untd,  iu  its  descent,  it  reach  the  very  abyss  of  vulgar, 
trading,  intriguing,  electioneering,   olfice-hunting  politicians.     If 


JUDGE  GASTON'S  ADDRESS.  r 


in  this  lowciit  depth  alowerdeep  can  be  found,  iiuiie.   of  u:^,  I  am 
sure,  have  the  curiosity  to  explore  it. 

But  is  Integrity  sure  to  meet  here  its  merited  reward  ?  Un- 
questionably not.  If  it  were,  and  the  fact  generally  known, 
there  would  scarcely  be  room  for  choice,  and  men  would  be 
honest  from  the  want  of  a  plausible  temptation  to  be  otherwise. 
But  it  is  not  too  much  to  say,  that,  in  general,  Integrity  has  a 
tendency  to  promote  the  interest  of  him  who  pursues  it,  and  it  is 
therefore  recommended  to  our  adoption  by  prudence,  not  less 
than  by  principle.  Success  in  the  acquisition  of  aji}'  extrinsic 
object  is  necessarily  uncertain,  since  it  depends  on  contingencies 
which  cannot  be  foreseen,  and  which,  if  foreseen,  are  frequently 
beyond  our  power.  It  is  not  in  mortals  to  command  success. — 
No  talent,  no  courage,  no  industry,  and  no  address,  can  be 
certain  to  affect  it.  But  when  it  is  attempted  by  cunning,  disin- 
genuous  means,  it  is  usually  rendered  more  dilficult  of  attain- 
ment, because  of  the  complexity  of  the  scheme,  and  the  risk  of 
detection  and  counteraction.  Honesty,  in  the  long  run,  is  there- 
fore the  surer  policy.  It  is  impossible  to  thrive  without  the  rep- 
utation of  it,  and  it  is  far  easier  to  be  honest  indeed,  than  to  cheat 
the  world  into  the  belief  of  integrity  where  it  is  not.  The  crooked 
stratagems,  the  arts,  toils,  concealments  and  self-denials,  which 
are  necessary'  to  carry  on  a  successful  imposition,  are  far  more 
onerous  and  painful,  than  all  the  duties  which  a  life  of  probity 
enjoins ;  while  the  consciousness  of  an  upright  deportment,  dif- 
fuses through  the  whole  man  that  security  and  serenity,  which 
infinitely  outweigh  all  the  advantages  of  successful  cunning. — 
Nor  in  recommending  a  spirit  of  Independence,  is  it  intended  to 
proscribe  the  acceptance  of  friendly  aid,  freely  tendered,  and 
won  by  no  mean  solicitation.  Children  of  the  same  common 
family,  we  are  bound  to  help  each  other  in  the  trials  and  difficul- 
ties of  our  common  pilgiimage,  nor  should  we  ever  be  too  proud 
to  receive  from  others  that  assistance,  which  it  is  our  duty  to 
render  to  them.  Now  such  aid  is  not  only  more  likely  to  be 
bestowed,  but  comes  with  far  greater  effect,  when  there  has  been 
a  manly  and  sustained  effort  to  do  without  it.  The  spindling 
plant  which  hai  always  been  supported  by  a  prop,  is  not  only 
unable  to  stand  alone,  but  can  scarcely  be  sustained  by  props 
when  the  season  of  fruit  an-ives ;  whereas,  the  slightest  assistance 

3 


18 


JUDGE  GASTON'S  ADDRESS. 


then  bestowed  on  the  hardy  tree,  that  self-sustained  has  always 
braved  the  breeze,  will  enable  it  to  bear  up  under  the  heaviest 
and  richest  burthen.  He  who  trusts  to  others,  must  necessasily 
be  often  disappointed,  and  the  habit  of  dependence  creates  a 
helplessness  which  is  almost  incapable  of  exertion.  Fancy 
dwells  on  expected  aid,  until  it  mistakes  its  own  creations  for 
realities,  and  the  child  of  illusion  wastes  life  in  miserable  day- 
dreams, unable  to  act  for  himself,  and  confidently  relying;  on 
assistance  which  he  is  destined  never  to  receive. 

Deeply  rooted  principles  of  probity,  confirmed  habits  of  in- 
dustry, and  a  determination  to  rely  on  one's  own  exertions,  con- 
stitute then  the  great  preparation  for  the  discharge  of  the  du-' 
ties  of  man,  and  the  best  security  for  performing  them  with  hon- 
or to  one's  self  and  benefit  to  others.  But  it  may  be  asked,  what 
is  there  in  such  a  life  of  never  ending  toil,  effort,  and  privation, 
to  recommend  it  to  the  acceptance  of  the  young  and  the  gay  ? 
Those  who  aspire  to  heroic  renown,  may  indeed  make  up  their 
minds  to  embrace  these  "  hard  doctrines ;"  but  it  may  be  well 
questioned  whether  happiness  is  not  preferable  to  greatness,  and 
enjoyment  more  desirable  than  distinction.  Let  others,  if  they 
will,  toil  up  "up  the  steep  where  Fame's  proud  temple  shines 
afar;"  we  choose  rather  to  sport  in  luxurious  ease  and  careless 
glee  in  the  valley  below.  It  is,  indeed,  on  those  who  aspire  to 
eminence,  that  these  injunctions  are  intended  to  be  pressed  with 
the  greatest  emphasis,  not  only  because  a  failure  in  them  would 
be  more  disastrous  than  in  others,  but  because  they  are  exposed 
to  greater  and  more  numerous  dangers  of  error.  But  it  is  a  sad 
mistake  to  suppose  that  they  are  not  suited  to  all,  and  arc  not 
earnestly  urged  upon  all,  however  humble  their  pretensions  or 
moderate  tlieir  views.  Happiness,  as  well  as  greatness,  enjoy- 
ment as  well  as  renown,  have  no  friends  so  sure  as  Integrity,  Dil- 
igence, and  Independence.  We  are  not  placed  here  to  waste  our 
days  in  wanton  riot  or  inglorious  ease,  with  appetites  perpetual- 
ly gratified  and  never  palled,  exempted  from  all  care  and  solici- 
tude, with  life  ever  fresh,  and  joys  ever  new.  He  who  has  fit- 
ted us  for  our  condition,  and  assigned  to  us  its  appropriate  duties, 
has  not  left  his  work  unfinished,  and  omitted  to  provide  a  penalty 
for  the  neglect  of  our  obligations.  Labor  is  not  more  the  duty, 
than  the  blessing  of  man.     Without  it,  there  is  neither  mental 


JUDGE  GASTON'S  ADDRESS.  19 


nor  physical  vigor,  health,  cheerfulness,  nor  animation  ;  neither 
the  eargerness  of  hope,  nor  the  capacity  to  enjoy.  Every  hu- 
man being  must  have  some  object  to  engage  his  attention,  excite 
his  wishes,  and  rouse  him  to  action,  or  he  sinks,  aprey  to  listlessness. 
For  want  of  proper  occupations,  see  strenuous  idleness  resorting 
to  a  thousand  expedients — the  race  course,  the  bottle,  or  the 
gaming  table,  the  frivolities  of  fashion,  the  debasements  of  sen- 
suality, the  petty  contentions  of  envy,  the  grovelling  pursuits  of 
avarice,  and  all  the  various  distracting  agitations  of  vice.  Call 
you  these  enjoyments  ?  Is  such  the  happiness  which  it  is  so 
dreadful  to  forego  ? 

"  Vast  happiness  enjoy  thy  gay  alhesl 

"  A  youth  of  lollies,  an  old  age  of  cares, 
"  Young  yet  enervate,  old  yet  never  wise ; 

*'  Vice  wastes  their  vigor  and  their  mind  impairs. 
"  Vain,  idle,  dissolute,  in  thoughtless  ease, 

"  Reserving  woes  lor  age,  their  prime  they  spend  ; 
*'  ^'^11  wretched,  hopeless  to  the  evil  days, 

"  With  sorrow  to  the  verge  of  life  they  tend  ; 
"  Grieved  with  the  present,  of  the  past  ashamed  ; 

"  They  hve  and  are  despised,  they  die,  no  more  are  named." 

If  to  every  bounty  of  Providence  there  be  annexed,  as  assuredly 
there  is,  some  obligations  as  a  condition  for  its  enjoyment ;  on  us, 
blest  as  we  have  been,  and  as  we  now  are,  with  the  choicest  gifts 
of  Heaven  here  below — with  freedom,  peace,  order,  civilization 
aiid  social  virtue — there  are  unquestionably  imposed  weighty  ob- 
lig;ations.  You  whom  I  now  address,  will,  in  a  few  years,  be 
a;  long  the  men  of  the  succeeding  age.  In  a  country  like  ours, 
where  the  public  will  is  wholly  unfettered,  and  every  man  is  a  com- 
ponent part  of  tliat  country,  there  is  no  individual  so  humble  who 
has  not  duties  of  a  public  kind  to  discharge.  His  views  and  ac- 
tions have  an  influence  on  those  of  others,  and  his  opinions,  with 
theirs,  serve  to  make  up  that  public  will.  More  especially  is  this  the 
case  with  those  who,  whatever  may  be  their  pursuits  in  life,  have 
been  raised  by  education  to  a  comparative  superiority  in  intellec- 
tual vigor  and  attainments.  On  you,  and  such  as  you,  depends 
the  fate  of  the  most  precious  heritage  ever  won  by  the  valor,  or 
preserved  by  the  prudence,  or  consecrated  by  the  virtue  of  an 
illustrious  ancestr}^ — illustrious,  not  because  of  factitious  titles,  but 
nature's  nobles,  wise,  good,  generous  and  brave  !  To  you,  and 
such  as  you,  will  be  confided  in  deposit,  the  institutions  of  our  re- 


20 


JUDGE  GASTONS  ADDRESS. 


nowned  and  beloved  country.     Receive  them  with  awe,  cherish 
them  with  loyalty,  and  transmit  them  wliole,  and  if  possible,  im- 
proved to  your  ciiildren.     Yours  will  indeed,  be  no  sinecure  of- 
fice.    As  the  public  will  is  the  operative  spring  of  all  public  ac- 
tion, it  will  be  your  duty  to  make  and  to  keep  the  public  will  en- 
lightened.    There  will  always  be  some  error  to  dispel,  some  pre- 
judice to  correct,  some  illusion  to  guard  against,   some  imposition 
to  detect  and  expose.     In  aid  of  these  individual  eflbrts,  you  must 
provide,  by  public  institutions,  for  dilFusing  among  the   people, 
that  trcneral  information  without  which  thev  cannot  be  protected 
from  the  machinations  of  deceivers.     As  your  country  grows  in 
years,  vou  must  also  cause  it  to  grow  in  science,   literature,  arts 
and  refinement.     It  will  be  for  you  to  dcvelope  and  multiply  its 
resources,  to  check  the  faults  of  manners  as  they  rise,' and  to  ad- 
vance the  cause  of  industry,  tempeiancc.  moderation,  justice,  mor- 
als and  religion,  all  around  you.     On  you  too,  will  devolve   the 
duty  which  has  been  too  long  neglected,  but  which  cannot  with 
impunity  be  neglected  much  longer,  of  providing  for  the  mitiga- 
tion, and  (is  it  too  much  to  hope  for  in  North  Carolina?)  for  the 
ultimate  extirpation  of  the  worst  evil  that  afflicts   the  Southern 
part  of  our  Confederacy.     Full  well  do  you  know  towiiat  I  refer, 
for  on  this  subject  there  is,  with  all  of  us,  a  morbid  sensitiveness 
which  gives  warning  even  of  an   approach  to  it.     Disguise   the 
truth  as  we  may,  and  throw  the  blame  where  we  will,  it  is  Slave- 
ry which,  more  than  any  other  cause,  keeps  us  back  in  the   ca- 
reer of  improvement.     It  stifles  industry   and  represses  enter- 
prize — it  is  fatal  to  economy  and  providence — it  discourages  skill 
— impairs  our  strength  as  a  community,   and  poisons   morals  at 
the  fountain  head.     How  this  evil  is  to  be  encountered,  how  sub- 
dued, is  indeed  a  dillicult  and  delicate  enquiry,  which  this  is  not 
the  time  to  examine,  nor  the  occasion  to  discuss.     I  felt,  however, 
that  I  could  not  discharge  my  duty,  without  referring  to  this  sub- 
ject, as  one  which  ought  to  engage  the  prudence,  moderation  and 
firmness  of  those  who,  sooner  or  later,  must  act  decisively  upon  it. 
I  would  not  depress  your  buoyant  spirits   with  gloomy    antici- 
pations, but  I  should  be  wanting  in  frankness,  if  I   did    not    state 
my  conviction,  that  you  will  be  called  to  the  performance  of  other 
duties  unusually  grave  and  important.     Perils  surround  you  and 
are  imminent,  which  v.-ill  require  clear  heads,  pure    intentions, 


JUDGE  GASTON'S  ADDRESS.        21 


and  stout  hearts,  to  discern  and  to  overcome.  There  is  no  side  on 
which  danger  may  not  make  its  approacli,  but  from  the  wicked- 
ness and  madness  of  factions,  it  is  most  menacing.  Time  was, 
indeed,  when  factions  contended  amongst  us  with  virulence  and 
fury  ;  but  they  were,  or  aflbcled  to  be,  at  issue  on  questions  of 
principle :  now,  Americans  band  together  under  the  names  of 
men,  and  wear  the  livery,  and  put  on  the  badges  of  Ihcir  leaders. 
Then,  the  individuals  of  the  different  parties  were  found  side  by 
side,  dispersed  throughout  the  various  districts  of  our  confederated 
Republic  ;  but  now,  the  parties  that  distract  the  land,  are  almost 
identilied  witli  our  geographical  distinctions.  Now  then  has 
come  that  period,  foreseen  and  dreaded  by  our  Washington,  by 
him,  "  who,  more  than  any  other  individual,  founded  this  our 
wide-spreading  Empire,  and  gave  to  our  western  world  indepen- 
dence and  freedom" — by  him,  who  with  a  lather's  wo.rning  voice, 
bade  us  beware  of  "parties  founded  on  geographical  discrimina- 
tions." As  yet,  the  sentiment  so  deeply  planted  in  the  hearts  of 
our  honest  yeomanry,  that  union  is  strength,  has  not  been  uproot- 
ed. As  yet,  they  acknowledge  the  truth,  and  feeL  the  force  of  the 
homely,  but  excellent  aphorism,  "United  we  stand,  divided  we 
fall."  As  yet,  they  take  pride  in  the  name  of  "the  United 
Stales" — in  the  recollection  of  the  fields  that  were  won,  the 
blood  which  was  poured  forth,  and  the  glory  which  was  gained 
in  the  common  cause,  and  under  the  common  banner  of  a  united 
country.  May  God,  in  his  mercy,  forbid  that  I,  or  you,  my 
friends,  should  live  to  see  the  day,  when  these  sentiments  and 
feelings  shall  be  extinct !  Whenever  that  day  comes,  then  is  the 
hour  at  hand,  when  this  glorous  Republic,  this  at  once  national 
and  confederated  Republic,  which  for  nearly  half  a  century  has 
presented  to  the  eyes,  the  hopes,  and  the  gratitude  of  man,  a 
more  brilliant  and  lovely  image  than  Plato,  or  More,  or  Harring- 
ton, ever  feigned  or  fancied,  shall  be  like  a  tale  that  is  told,  like 
a  vision  that  hath  passed  away.  But  these  sentiments  and  feelings 
are  necessarily  weakened,  and  in  the  end  must  be  destroyed, 
unless  the  moderate,  the  good  and  the  wise  unite  to  "frown 
indignantly  upon  the  first  dawnings  of  every  attempt  to  alienate 
any  portion  of  our  country  from  the  rest,  or  to  enfeeble  the  sacred 
ties  which  now  link  together  its  various  parts."  Threats  of  re- 
sistance, secession,    separation — have  become  common  as  house- 


52        JUDGE  GASTON'S  ADDRESS. 


hold  words,  in  the  wicked  and  silly  violence  of  public  declaimers. 
The  public  ear  is  familiarized,  and  the  public  mind  will  soon  be 
accustomed  to  the  detestable  suggestion  of  Disunion  !  Calcula- 
tions and  conjectures,  what  may  the  East  do  without  the  South, 
and  what  may  the  South  do  without  the  East,  sneers,  menaces, 
reproaches,  and  recriminations,  all  tend  to  the  same  fatal  end  ! 
What  can  the  East  do  without  the  South  ?  What  can  the  South 
do  without  the  East?  They  may  do  much  ;  they  may  exhibit  to 
the  curiosity  of  political  anatomists,  and  the  pity  and  wonder  of 
the  world,  the  '^disjecta  membra,"  the  sundered  bleeding  limbs  of 
a  once  gigantic  body  instinct  with  life  and  strength,  and  vigor. 
They  can  furnish  to  the  philosophic  historian,  another  melancholy 
and  striking  instance  of  the  political  axiom,  that  all  Republican 
Confederacies  have  an  inherent  and  unavoidable  tendency  to 
dissolution.  They  will  present  fields  and  occasions  for  border 
Avars,  for  leagues  and  counter-leagues,  for  the  intrigues  of  petty 
statesmen,  the  struggles  of  military  chiefs,  for  confiscations,  insur- 
rections, and  deeds  of  darkest  hue.  They  will  gladden  the  hearts 
of  those  who  have  proclaimed,  that  men  are  not  fit  to  govern 
themselves,  and  shed  a  disastrous  eclipse  on  the  hopes  of  rational 
freedom  throughout  the  world.  So'.on,  in  his  Code,  proposed  no 
punishment  for  parricide,  treating  it  as  an  impossible  crime. — 
Such,  with  us,  ought  to  be  the  crime  of  political  parricide — the 
dtsmemberment  of  our  '•  father  land."  '•  Cari  sunt  parent es,  cart 
y.  ntliberi,  propinqui,  familiares,  sed  omncs  omnium  cariiates  pa- 
tria  una  complexa  est ;  pro  qua  quis  bonus  dubiiet  mortem  opjjetere 
si  ei  sit  profuturus  1  Quo  est  detestabilior  istonim  immanitas  qui 
Iccerarunt  scelere  patriam,  et  in  ca  funditus  delcnda  occiipati  et 
sunt  cifuert/nt." 

If  it  must  be  so,  let  parties  and  party  men  continue  to  quarrel 
with  little  or  no  regard  to  the  public  good.  They  may  mistify 
themselves  and  others  with  disputations  on  political  economy, 
proving  the  most  opposite  doctrines  to  their  own  satisfaction,  and 
perhaps,  to  the  conviction  of  no  one  else  on  earth.  They  may 
deserve  reprobation  for  their  selfishness,  their  violence,  their 
errors,  or  their  wickedness.  The}^  may  do  our  country  much 
hamri.  They  may  retard  its  growth,  destroy  its  harmony,  impair 
its  character,  render  its  institutions  unstable,  pervert  the  public 
mind,  and  deprave  the  public  morals.     These  are,   indeed,  evils, 


